The prior art apparatus for handling bulk material as located at a storage site have several versions of the well known stacker-reclaimer apparatus. Many of these apparatuses, as shown in FIG. 1, have a central column to which the stacker and reclaimer are connected via bearings. These apparatuses with a central column require at least three bearings to separately operate the reclaimer from the stacker. Bearings of the size needed to function in a stacker-reclaimer apparatus can cost in excess of $100,000.00. A configuration of the apparatus that would reduce the number of bearings without adding additional columns would provide a financial advantage. See also U.S. Pat. No. 4,363,396. In this embodiment, a circular rail functions as the third bearing to support the reclaimer.
Another version of the stacker reclaimer apparatus as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,060 uses an incline column to replace the central column and torque arm. In this configuration there is only one stacker bearing as the stacker weight is carried by the incline column. An additional incline column, however, substantially raises the cost of the apparatus.
In another embodiment, shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,463 uses a fixed center column attached to a foundation. In this apparatus, the stacker, reclaimer and wing feeder unit each have one bearing which are stationarily mounted to the fixed column to permit all three units to rotate independently.